STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGER SERIES RESULTSStrikeforce Challengers Series on Showtime was held on Friday May 15th, 2009 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., most of the night the action was fast & furious. However on this night the main event came to an end with controversy.
After some toe-2-toe action ,the main event fight between Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina , was stopped due to an illegal knee to the head of Mike Aina.
In a heavyweight bout between local favorite, Lavar Johnson and Carl Seumanutafa, came to a quick end
: 18 seconds of round one, when Johnson , unloaded an uppercut to the chin of Seumanutafa .

An open workout was held at Gold's Gym in Fresno, California featuring Strikeforce Challengers main event fighter Billy Evangelista as well as Strikeforce Challengers competitors Lavar "Big" Johnson and Ben Holscher.

Photo's by Daisy Rosas

Undefeated Billy Evangelista (above) took part in an open workout on wednesday May 6,2009 at Gold's Gym in Fresno following a national media teleconference call in preparation for the May 15th showdown at the Save Mart Center.

Evangelista returns home to Fresno in the main event to face Mike Aina in the debut of Strikeforce Challengers, a new SHOWTIME series that serves as a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters.

Lavar Johnson, a local Fresno fighter like Evangelista, also took part in the open workout wednesday. He faces off against Carl Seumanutafa of San Francisco, Calif., May 15 in a five-round heavyweight fight.

In a three-round bout at 160 pounds, local Fresno school teacher Ben Holscher meets Cody Cantebury in a non-televised undercard fight.

Members of the local Fresno media came out in full force to check out the Fresno-area fighters on Wednesday May 6,2009.

SHIELDS SUBS LAWLERST. LOUIS (June 7, 2009) “ Jake Shields, a world-ranked welterweight, submitted (guillotine choke) world-rated middleweight, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, in the STRIKEFORCE main event Saturday on SHOWTIME® before 8,867 who turned out at the Scottrade Center for the most significant mixed martial arts event in the history of the Gateway City.

Shields' 12th consecutive victory in a match fought at a catch weight of 182 pounds capped a wild and entertaining evening of MMA highlighted by undefeated Brett "The Grim" Rogers' shocking 22-second knockout over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei "Pitbull" Arlovski and another impressive performance by talented, world-class Nick Diaz, who submitted (rear naked choke) hard-trying Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith at 1:41 of the of the third round.

In other results on SHOWTIME, southpaw Joe "The Diesel Riggs registered a unanimous decision over Phil Baroni in a welterweight scrap and "Iron" Mike Whitehead scored the biggest victory of his career with a unanimous decision over comebacking former UFC standout and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion Kevin Randleman in a light heavyweight bout.

It was announced during the SHOWTIME telecast that the biggest fight in the history of women's MMA, the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated match between superstars Gina Carano and Cris "Cyborg" would take place on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on SHOWTIME.